Fragments of Sorrow
by shadows-of-flame
Summary: A world of real dreams filled with sorrow and pain, love and lust, joy and ecstasy. He was too strong, too tough to bend to the whim of anyone... In a world filled with hate, Keira can only hope to survive by clinging to distant memories.
1. Here with Me

Fragments of Sorrow  
By Sull89 and shadows/of/flame

This is a joint fic, by us. Enjoy the first chappie!

* * *

As she walked past one of her hydraulic hoists, Keira ran the back of her fingers along the zoomer it held. Her nails clicked faintly against the hard metal of the vehicle as the sound echoed through her small garage.

Her footsteps slowed as she reached the end of the craft. With a sigh, she grabbed on to the edge of the hoist and boosted herself up. Slowly, she reclined against the tail of the zoomer and raised her eyes to the ceiling.

It was then that she fell into a world of memories. A world of real dreams filled with sorrow and pain, love and lust, joy and ecstasy. A world completely her own, yet at the same time belonging to others.

With her eyes closed, she ran through these memories. They were all important, each and every one was a part of her, but there were a certain few that resurfaced over and over to captivate and imprison her soul.

Her memories of him. They were the ones most vivid in her mind, the ones suffused with the most strength and power. The young boy was never far from her mind, but now, when she was alone and all was finally quiet, he was all she could think of.

The way they had managed to hold a conversation even though he never said a word. The way he looked at her as though there was no one else in the world. The way they grew up together, as comrades and friends along with the little annoying one. These memories were the ones Keira treasured more than anything.

Although she didn't know it, one solitary tear coursed its way down the mechanic's cheek.

It had been almost two years since she had last seen the boy of her memories, and she missed him with all her being.

There was a resonating pain deep within her chest every time she thought of him. It was as though someone had cut a deep and ragged hole in her heart, but the one and only person that could even begin to heal that wound wasn't around.

What had happened to him? That strange trip through the Precursor Gate was the last time she had seen him. What if that horrid creature had gotten to him? What if he was sick, or injured?

The huge question… What if he was dead…? Keira refused to even think about it. There was no way he could have died, he was too strong. He had saved the world once, compared to that nothing could harm him, right?

An involuntary shudder made its way down her spine. Trying to assert that thought to herself, Keira nodded her head before saying, "Right."

But Haven City was a freakish metropolis, full of dangerous places and even more dangerous people. Was there any guarantee he had survived two years in this hellish place?

Mentally, she hit herself. Of course there was a guarantee he would survive, he was Jak.

That was all she needed to know. He wouldn't let anything happen to him. One day, they would meet again and find a way back to Sandover, a way back to how things were.

Doubt though, gnawed on the edges of her mind.

She remembered how Jak took her out in secret some nights at Sandover, both sneaking out of bed to meet each other.  
They usually lay each others arms by the beach for a few hours, not returning to Samos' hut much before sunrise, and trying desperately not to get caught.

And then the poor, heartbroken girl snapped back to the harsh reality of the Haven City citizens - they didn't love a woman for her personality, but her looks, and what she could give them.

Keira almost gagged as she remembered her first night in Haven City, when she was sobbing and almost crying out for Jak.  
Men had openly stared at her, not caring for her feelings, or that she felt even more scared by the approaches they made.

Men dared each other to slap a passing girl on the butt, and only by thinking of Jak and the wonderful times they had spent together kept Keira strong when these things happened.

The thought of the one she cared most for somehow being kidnapped or taken away didn't help either, as the Krimzon Guard were the nastiest bunch of brutes she had ever laid eyes on.

When her friend Tess had introduced her to a Krimzon Guard, she slapped him and hid under a table until Tess repeated that he had quit the guard several days ago, making the blue haired girls cheeks flame red in embarrassment.

The city was full of whispers of the Barons newest experiments, the dark warrior program.  
Rumours of this horrific experiment had reached the young mechanics ears, mostly via her boss. and she was beginning to hate Haven City even more for its terrible secrets.

Torturing innocent beings to be bred into war machines? How humane was that?

She feared Jak was somehow involved, her senses tingled as she thought about it.

Would he ever get involved with something like that?  
Of course not. He was too strong, too tough to bend to the whim of anyone.

Each night, the city was plagued with the screams that could be heard echoing through the streets from the palace, obviously from the person being tortured with dark eco, and she shivered as she heard them.

Could it be Jak? There was a small chance that it was, but Keira refused to believe it.  
He was stronger than that; but if he was up against the KG...

Keira shuddered, remembering the way the Baron ordered those repulsive guards to beat to death the next person to disobey him; heck, even innocent children were being attacked and killed for no apparent reason.

She missed him; the innocent smile that crept over his face whenever he saw her, the way he could beat up a Lurker without breaking a sweat, hell, she even missed that annoying rat that constantly plagued his shoulder.

Her father, too, was sucked through the Rift Ring with them, and she hadn't seen hide nor hair of him either.

Now, she had a new task in this hellish haven - mechanic of the Krimzon Guard commander, Erol.

Speaking of which, if she didn't get to work on his new zoomer, and he caught her goofing off...

The green haired mechanic reluctantly tore herself away from her own little world, the world with peace, and beautiful things.

A world where it was just her and Jak.

"Hey, hows my sweet heart going?"

Keira cringed at the name; that name meant that the red-head was back, and liable to hit on her as was his daily routine when he came in.

She quickly swept on the facade, the face that she used to be able to smile on default when Jak was around.

Jak...

"Erol, I'm perfectly fine! Your zoomer will definitely be ready for the races this Saturday!" Keira said this all rather cheerfully, hiding her shame and hate for this man.  
Soon enough, she could feel his arm snake around her waist, and pull her closer, her senses screaming "This can't happen! Jak! Come back!"

_"Jak should be the one holding me"  
"Jak should be here with me. And Daxter. And Daddy..."_

"Hehe, that boy we caught is having a lot of "fun" in our care." Erol drawled, an evil grin plastered on his face.  
"He'll never know what hit him if the dark warrior program succeeds."

"Whenever you come here, all you do is speak about "that boy". Who is he? You haven't even told me his name yet." Keira muttered, as she got back to work on her latest invention, her mind only on Jak.

Erol smirked, slowly walking over to stand beside her as she worked.  
She was interested in his job. That was one of the first steps to a good relationship.

"This blond, scrawny kid, who used to be accompanied by a rat thing before we scared it off. Haha, you should have seen the look on the rats face! Hes a mute, and a dumb one at that, but we'll get something out of him one day soon... before he dies."

It slowly dawned on Keira as Erol continued talking, and cackling inbetween.

He was talking about Jak.


	2. Evil man

Fragments of Sorrow  
Chapter 2  
By Sull89 and shadows/of/flame

* * *

He was talking about Jak… Keira's senses started screaming at her when she realized what Erol meant. Jak was the one they were experimenting on, the one they were torturing, the one they were going to kill! 

This bastard of a man next to her was helping this murder happen, and he was proud of it! He bragged about it, like it was something special! Worst of all, Keira knew he enjoyed it!

It was Jak she heard screaming every night. His voice was the one that echoed through her bedroom, keeping her awake with nightmares about the harsh reality of her new home.

Keira forgot where she was as she fell into her own world again. This time though, it wasn't the calm and peaceful world of memories from before, but a dark and depressing hole full of blood, misery, and violence.

She felt as through she was drowning in that blood, the knowledge of what was happening to Jak pulling her down and suffocating her. All she could see was the boy, floating in this sea of red and making it deeper with his own.

It was a horror beyond all belief for Keira, to have that vision pass before her eyes. A vision that she didn't want, that she never asked for. It was wrong, and in this short amount of time, it had almost broken her.

Erol must have seen something change in Keira's face, because he pulled the mechanic closer to him and started to whisper in her ear. "What's wrong, baby?" he asked as he leaned in to kiss her.

The pressure of Erol's lips against hers finally snapped Keira back into the real world, but now all she wanted to do was hurt the man in any way she could. Bite him, kick him, or punch him, Keira felt she had to do something.

She knew though, that she couldn't do anything. Erol had too much power, to much sway in this city, and he could do anything he wanted to her. Keira was also afraid that if she did anything to Erol, he would do something worse to Jak.

So the mechanic waited for Erol to break the kiss, and when he looked at her again, she smiled. After a moment, she bent her head down into the engine compartment of a zoomer, so she didn't have to look at the evil man next to her.

While Keira was under the pretense of fixing the zoomer, Erol wandered around her shop. Stopping here and there to run his fingers over something, he scrutinized every inch of the space.

The redheaded man was always on the lookout for a clue that would tell him Keira had been unfaithful. Although they technically weren't dating, Erol considered the mechanic his, and that was all he needed to be controlling.

Infuriated, Keira watched Erol from under her lashes as he prowled around her garage. She wanted to tell him to get away from her stuff, but once again, she couldn't. She couldn't tell him to do anything.

Sick to death and tired of her situation, Keira decided that there was one thing she could do, something that would keep her sane and thinking in this, the darkest of times. I'm going to try to get more information out of Erol, she thought decisively, there has to be something he'll tell me that will help Jak.

Keira knew though, what she'd have to do to get Erol to tell her what she wanted. Gathering her resolve, she straightened her back and then walked over to the Guard Commander.

No matter what though, she thought as she started to make her move, it won't go much farther than this. Quickly, she reached behind Erol and grabbed his butt, squeezing in the process.

The racer jumped a bit at the unexpected contact. This was the first time Keira herself had made any advance, and Erol found he liked it. Turning to catch her in his arms, Erol almost tripped when he found she wasn't there.

He heard a laugh above his head; Keira had used one of her lifts to reach the roof beams. Erol looked up, and there she was, sitting on one of the metal girders and smiling down at him with mischief in her eyes.

A lustful grin crossed Erol face as he watched Keira uncross her legs. She was so appealing, so beautiful, and so naive. His grin widened; the idea he had in mind would be so much fun.

Keira noticed the way Erol watched her, and she also saw that he wasn't looking at her face, but she knew she had to ignore that. Swinging her body around, she straddled the girder and then locked her feet together.

Quick as a flash, she pushed her hands against the side of the metal. With her feet holding her up, the girl now hung from the beam. With an evil smile she looked down at Erol as she disregarded the fact that her shirt had fallen up toward her head, showing much more of her body than she was comfortable with.

Keira could see by the look in Erol's face that he liked it though. Not much farther than this, she reminded herself. Knowing that everything she did drove Erol a bit father away from reason, she ran her hands down her shirt in a futile attempt to make it lie right.

Faking exasperation, she flung her hands down. "It won't stay," she pouted, her lower lip sticking out, "Oh well." Getting a new idea Keira asked, "Erol honey, catch me?" With that, she untwisted her legs.

The Krimzon Guard had her in his arms way before she would have hit the ground. Letting his hormones override his brain, his pressed his lips against Keira's in a violent move.

It was all Keira could do not to scream out in pain. He had bit her lip hard enough to make it bleed, and she could feel her lifeblood as it flowed into her mouth, to coat her teeth and run into her throat.

Finally, Erol tore his lips away from Keira's. The mechanic could see where her blood was on him, and she had to repress a shudder as his tongue came out and licked it up. After a moment, she could see his Adam's apple move as he swallowed.

Smacking his lips, Erol gave Keira another lustful look. "That's how I like it, baby," he told her, "Nice and sweet." Keira was still in his arms, now though, he flung her onto an empty lift.

"Nice and sweet…" he murmured as he grabbed onto her wrists and began to lower himself down onto her.

Keira's mind was running on high and beginning to panic. This wasn't what was suppose to happen, this was going way too far! She had to do something now, before Erol did what he had planned.

In a quick move, the girl freed one of her hands and pressed it against Erol's chest. "Tell me something first," Keira asked as she kept up her own lustful façade, trying to get some time to think, "please?"

Erol didn't want to wait, but he decided to humor Keira anyway. "What?" he asked, his voice hoarse with suppressed urges, his chest under Keira's hand heaving with need.

"More about that boy, please?" she pleaded. "It's all so intriguing. That's all I want to know, then we can move on." Keira gave Erol the most pitiful look she could manage.

Seeing that look, Erol caved in to her demands, "Alright, babe." Before he said anymore though, he finished lowering himself down onto her, and then leaned his head against her chest.

"It started almost two years ago," Erol laughed, "but you already knew that." He sighed, as though remembering that long ago time, "It was getting late, and all day the Baron had been after me to find someone who could survive the experiments."

Keira decided to keep up her act, seeing that it was getting her somewhere.  
Gently, she whispered to Erol, "My poor baby, having to listen to the beck and call of that evil man."


	3. Dream

Fragments of Sorrow  
Chapter 3  
By shadows/of/flame & Sull89

Erol's eyes flickered dangerously at her words, only just stopping himself from doing anything… irrational.

"Evil man indeed…" he mused aloud, shifting slightly. "Well, it was getting close to the end of the day, and all my guards were muttering between themselves.  
"We'd had no luck in finding anyone, and we knew I'd join all the other traitors of the guard if I couldn't find someone, or if they died in the first few doses of dark eco the Baron administered."

Keira faked a slight purr, and started running her hands through his thick red locks.  
"Go on." She insisted, knowing he was getting closer to spilling all about how he'd found Jak.

Erol grinned cockily, and continued his tale.

"Another group of Krimzon Guards in another sector of the city alerted my attention to a rather strange pair that had 'fallen out of the sky'. So, we went to investigate and found a scrawny blond boy and his orange pet rat."

Keira almost laughed out loud. Daxter would hate to be called a orange pet rat.  
Especially the 'pet' part.

"The rat ran away, but we were able to get the boy and knock him out before he caused any trouble to the citizens."

Erol stretched dramatically to wrap an arm around Keira's waist, ignoring her wince of protest.

"But when we took him to the Baron, we found he would be the perfect lab rat for the testing, so the tests started straight away.  
"And now, two years later, he's still going as strong as the day we dragged his sorry behind in there."

Erol looked at Keira, who was rather paler than she had been when she'd been teasing the red head.

A look of genuine concern replaced his lust filled look as he called her name.  
"Keira?"

_'The Baron…That stupid pigheaded man… The Baron… was experimenting on Jak. Causing him pain. For two whole years? And Erol--! He… he took Jak to him…'_

She promptly passed out, leaving Erol, who was now knelt beside her, in utter alarm.

0o0o0

When Keira slowly opened her eyes again, she found that she was in her own bed, in her room upstairs above the garage, in a nightgown.

For a few seconds, she wondered about what had occurred and how she got into bed, into a nightgown no less.

Her lips curled dryly. Erol. Of course, who else.  
But she remembered him as she had passed out. The look on his face as she had almost frightened her, she had never seen that look on him before.  
_He was… concerned?  
'That is definitely beyond normal…'_

She slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes gently to rid the sleep from them. Jak had haunted her dreams as she was unconscious, unnerving her greatly.

A note sat, neatly folded, on her dining table as she dressed and went down the stairs.  
It turned out to be from Erol, no less.

_Keira,  
I was worried sick about you. I unfortunately had to go on duty, so I left early.  
I'll be around later to see how you are babe, miss you lots._

_Erol_

Keira boiled the jug and started thinking about the day before, worried.  
Things with Erol had nearly gone too far, and although she hated him for what he did to Jak… being involved romantically with him was another thing entirely.

She drained the pot of coffee instead of pouring herself a mug, wolfing down some toast and quickly brushing her teeth.  
It was entirely unlike her to be so piggish, but she had woken up late, and was supposed to meet Tess and the blondes ex Krimzon Guard friend at a café downtown in a few minutes.

After hurriedly brushing her hair and pulling on her trenchcoat, she stepped outside into the cold air, frost nipping bitterly at her ankles.

The man Tess was with checked his watch as she slid into the seat next to the blonde woman's, wearing a smirk on his face.

"…Twenty seconds late." He fake mocked her, summoning a waitress over to serve them.

Keira glared at him. "So? Is that a major, life threatening problem?" she replied coolly.  
He looked taken aback.

He tried to start the conversation up again with a nice round of sarcasm.

"Gonna slap me again?" he smirked, drawing another glare from the mechanic.

"Can you two at least attempt to get along, and stop fighting like an old married couple?" Tess asked them with a threatening tone, chewing on some violent pink coloured bubble gum that she had picked up beforehand at the same time.

As they both knew, violent pink coloured bubble gum was very evil indeed, and they stopped arguing.

"I'm Keira." The mechanic smiled, almost as if she was trying to start their friendship over again.  
"Torn." The man replied, kissing her hand, and pulling a face to Tess, who giggled.

"He isn't used to being a gentleman." Tess informed Keira as the waitress brought them some food and drink. Torn just glared, making his vivid grey tattooes look even more sinister.

"Hm… you were part of the Krimzon Guard?" Keira questioned him.  
"Yes, I was until a few days ago." Torn muttered coldly. "…Commander, in fact."

A cold chill ran through Keira at these words.  
Commander? But Erol… _Oh… since Torn left, Erol was instated as Commander… so that's why Erol was so happy and… joyful of all things a few days ago…_

"You… know Erol?" Keira asked, trying to keep her voice half steady.

Torn's face darkened considerably.

"Know him? We were always rivals, he was so damned pissed at missing out on being Commander due to being bedridden because of our recent slip with the metal heads, he's been after me ever since. Of course, after I left, he became the new Commander I suppose."

Keira felt faint again like she had after Erol had told her about Jak.

If Erol found out that she was hanging around with his enemy… She'd never get away with it.

"So, I suppose you know about the dark eco experiments being done on the blond boy." She whispered, feeling miserable.

"Yes… that was the reason I left, it was so inhumane… Do you know him personally?"

"Who?"

"The boy."

"Yes… I do." She stammered. "He's…_(Do I love him…?)_ my best friend."

The tears started then, flowing freely down her cheeks. The young woman didn't make any moves to stop them, and her two friends could only watch as she burst into a flood of tears.

She was torn between two men, two sets of friends, and two different worlds. She had been stuck in a strange world for almost two years, she had no idea how to get back home, and she had no idea how her two friends and her father were faring after the ride through the portal.

Even though she had new friends now, she felt lost, alone, alienated from the world around her.

She didn't fit in, no matter how hard she tried, she knew that.

Even after living there for months on end, she knew that every day as she stepped out into the street.

Men and passers-by could see the fear in her eyes, which she hated showing, no matter how hard she tried to avoid it.

She hated living in the race garage by herself, hated when a man walked in to order or ask for a zoomer to be fixed and stared at her chest until they finished talking.

Tess wrapped her arms around the younger woman as she cried, Torn offering a consoling hand on her back.  
"Was he… ever more than a friend?" Tess asked her as she began to calm down a little.

Keira took a deep breath, and started telling the two about Jak.  
She told them about the pairs moonlit ventures, about how they never returned much before sunrise.

About all the little things he did that made her smile.  
About how they could hold a conversation without even a word.

Tess listened, and Torn almost fell asleep, but they were both there for her as she cried into their shoulders.

"So… more than a friend?" Tess asked, grinning from ear to ear as the young girl finished.

Keira didn't want to admit it to herself, but soon enough she started nodding unconsciously.

"You… could say that." She murmured, wiping the tears away.

Torn sighed, and began to say something. "I wish there was something we could do to get him out of there. The cells are horrible places to be at the best of times."

Keira silently agreed, and as she looked out to the man-made lake by South Town, she began to wonder if she would ever see Jak… _alive…_ Ever again.


	4. Come What May

Fragments of Sorrow 4  
By Sull89 and shadows-of-flame

That night, after Keira had taken her leave of Torn and Tess, she found herself walking through the streets of Haven City alone. Although both her friends had offered to give her a ride, Keira had told them no; she wanted time to be alone and think about everything.

As she crossed one of the many bridges placed in the Canal Zone, Keira looked up to see a huge poster of Erol in his racing gear staring her down. A slight shiver ran through her core; even though he had seemed so caring right before she passed out the night before, Keira still didn't like Erol.

The way he had described finding Jak and how he smiled about it whenever he talked about the pain they were putting the boy through, just by that Keira could tell that Erol had a callus heart. She didn't want to be involved with someone like that, especially when Jak was still alive and there was a chance she would be with him again.

Keira would wait for Jak forever if she had to. As long as he was alive, she would not forsake him and she would not move on. Jak had been with her through everything, he was always there for her when she needed it the most, and Keira wasn't going to forget that.

When he got out of that hellish prison, Keira would be waiting for him. Her whole entire heart and soul would be waiting for him, waiting for the chance to wrap him in love once again and shield him from the pain he had so wrongly suffered. Keira would protect him with everything she had, even if that protection came at the cost of her own life.

Keira would never loose Jak again. If only she could get him back from that prison, everything would get better.

Lost in thought as she was, Keira didn't realize she had reached the stadium entrance until she almost tripped down the steps. Gazing in the direction of her garage and home, Keira gave a little start. The lights were on, but she knew for a fact that she had turned them off before leaving.

Cautiously she made her way toward the building. Trying to walk as slowly as possible to muffle any noise she might make, Keira snuck up to the ground floor window of her garage and looked inside, hoping to find out why her lights were on.

Gazing through the window with her body shielded by the darkness, Keira stared into the living room of her home. A flicker of different colored lights caught her eye, and as she looked toward the corner of the room she saw that her television set was on and that there was someone sitting in the chair next to it.

"What the…" she whispered to herself, "Who is that?"

Getting very worried now, Keira tried to figure out what she was going to do. There was a person in her home that she hadn't invited, and she didn't know who it was or why they were there. She had to do something, but Keira didn't know what; there was a lot that could go wrong if the person was not friendly.

There was always the option of going to find a Krimzon Guard and having him check it out, but Keira did not want one of those filthy pieces of scum to enter her home. He would probably do more bad than good anyway, and besides all that Keira had some… prohibited items in her possession, and she didn't need the KG to find them.

As hard as she tried, Keira could not think of anything else to do. So, although it may not have been the safest plan, Keira decided to get check it out herself. Hoping that she wasn't about to make the biggest mistake of her life, Keira walked to the door of her garage and grabbed the gun she kept hidden in a loose floor plate beside it.

She wasn't completely sure how to use the weapon; she hadn't ever had to actually wield it before, but she had it just in case. Now it gave Keira a feeling of security when she really needed it, and for that she was glad. Holding it in front of her and aimed toward her door, Keira took a deep breath and then shoved open the portal.

She didn't expect to meet with the person yet; after all she had seen him or her in the living room, not her garage, but Keira kept her gun up as a precaution. As she had thought it would be, the shop was dark and empty, the only thing moving in it the fan she kept turned on to cool it.

Now knowing that she was safe for the moment, Keira walked inside and then lowered her pistol momentarily to wipe her face of the sweat that had begun to cover it. That was her one mistake, as the second the gun went down someone ran up and snatched it from her hands before she could react.

A shout had started to make its way up Keira's throat, but it was cut off when her mouth was covered by a gloved hand and a voice said, "Please, don't scream." Keira was startled at the tone of the voice; she realized it was female when it said, "I'm not here to hurt you, I need your help."

Keira knew she didn't have a choice, so she nodded her head. Slowly the other woman withdrew her hand and stepped away from Keira in a gesture of truth. Walking over to the wall by the door, the woman then flicked on a light so Keira could see her, "My name is Ashelin."

Keira heard the woman speak her name, but it didn't really register. All she could focus on was the KG tattoos that ran across her face, and trying to figure out what she wanted. Keira must have had a vacant or surprised look on her face, because the woman said, "It's alright. I really need your help."

Keira was still trying to figure out what this woman being here meant. Looking at her, Keira said, "Your name is Ashelin?" As the woman nodded, a look of fear and hatred crossed Keira's façade, "That's means you're the Baron's daughter! What do you want with me?"

Holding up her hands in a defensive position Keira said, "I'm not going to help you further your father's plans, so leave me alone!"

Keira figured she must have been imagining it, but she thought she saw a trace of sadness flit across Ashelin's eyes. "I'm not asking you for help in that," she said, eyes downcast, "I never would." Looking up, she threw Keira's pistol back to her, "Look, all I want is for you to hear me out. Keep that with you, to show that I'm not going to try anything stupid."

Keira looked down at the gun in her hand and figured that if Ashelin would give her the gun back, she really was sincere. Deciding that she would listen to Ashelin, she nodded her head before saying, "Alright, I'll listen, but just let me ask you one thing first; why did you have my lights and television on? I never would have even had the gun out if I didn't think anyone was here."

Ashelin laughed slightly, and a small grin crossed her features. "I did that because I wanted to see how you operated." She paused to shrug, "I figured if you saw someone was here and you didn't know why, you'd have to do something, and I wanted to know what."

"I had the television on and was sitting in the chair to make you think that's where I would be when you got in the house, but the second I saw your silhouette leave the window I went into your garage and hid in the rafters." Ashelin laughed again, "It's really easy to get up there with the all the lifts you have."

"So you did that just to test me?" Keira was indignant at the thought, and she did not appreciate being used as a guinea pig, "Why?"

"I'm sorry, but I had too." Ashelin held out her hands in an honest apology, "I needed to see if you really would be able to help me."


End file.
